Northwestern Mutual Disability Denials

---

Northwestern is recognized as one of the top three providers of long-term and short-term disability benefits. As a mutual company, it is owned by policyholders, not shareholders, and understands the critical importance of disability insurance when you suddenly become unable to do your job. As their website states:

“Don’t let an unexpected injury or illness put your financial future in jeopardy. Disability income insurance from Northwestern Mutual can help you protect your most valuable asset – your ability to earn an income. At the same time, it also provides a fundamental layer of security for your financial future.”

That is why it is so discouraging and disappointing that Northwestern Mutual disability denials are so common. If your Northwestern Mutual short- or long-term disability insurance claim has been denied, you can request a free consultation with a Northwestern Mutual disability attorney at the Ortiz Law Firm. We will evaluate your disability claim, provide legal advice for the appeal process, and guide you through the preparation of a comprehensive appeal letter.

If your claim has been denied, consider hiring an attorney to help you appeal and get the disability benefits you deserve. Don’t let the insurance company deny you the benefits that you rightfully deserve. Call us at (888) 321-8131 to see how we can help.

Reasons for Northwestern Mutual Disability Denials

A Northwestern Mutual disability claim is usually denied when the disability insurance claims examiner has set too high a bar for the claimant’s ability to prove he or she is disabled.

Each Northwestern Mutual long-term disability policy creates a contract. Therefore, the claims process is governed by the language in that contract. Each disability policy contains a proof of loss provision that places the burden of proving a disability on the claimant. To prove a disability claim, the claimant must provide sufficient medical evidence of his or her disability and evidence of his or her job duties and responsibilities.

As part of the disability insurance claim process, Northwestern Mutual will often review a disability claimant’s social media accounts in search of evidence that they can use to justify a claim denial. Northwestern Mutual may also have its in-house physicians and outside medical consultants review the claimant’s entire file, including all medical evidence. The Northwestern Mutual adjuster will look for sufficient evidence of a disability in the medical record to approve a claim.

Unfortunately, most treating physicians do not take extensive notes at every office visit, and most physicians do not expect their notes to be carefully scrutinized by an insurance company. Mr. Ortiz has reviewed all too many disability insurance claims where the claimant is clearly disabled, but the medical records do not tell the whole story, so the insurer decides to deny the claim.

This benefits Northwestern Mutual because the insurance company is only required to review the claim based on the available medical records and is not required to examine the claimant. If the insurance company chooses to examine the claimant, it is extremely unlikely that the claimant will receive a fair evaluation since the insurance company is paying the reviewing physician.

One of the most important things an attorney can help you with during the claim process is to dissect the report from Northwestern Mutual’s hired doctors and respond with an argument and supporting medical records to explain to Northwestern Mutual why the claimant is, in fact, medically disabled under the terms of the disability insurance policy.

Northwestern Mutual Focuses on Insuring Professionals

Northwestern Mutual prefers to issue short- and long-term disability insurance policies to doctors, lawyers, dentists, and other business professionals. While insurance companies like Northwestern Mutual have no problem collecting premiums on disability policies, they are not always as eager to pay out benefits on a legitimate claim, leaving disabled professionals without the benefits they were counting on.

Northwestern seems to be better at paying legitimate long-term disability claims than most insurance companies, but even they have been known to improperly deny claims, and some claimants have even had to go to court to receive benefits.

Disability attorney Nick Ortiz has experience in handling long-term disability appeals with insurance companies. If the Northwestern denies your appeal, we can file a lawsuit in federal court. He has a thorough understanding of how insurance companies handle claims and the laws that may apply (such as ERISA law).

Proving Your Pre-Disability Duties and Responsibilities

If you are a doctor, lawyer, dentist, or other professional applying for Northwestern Mutual disability benefits, you need to be aware that Northwestern will require you to provide very detailed information about the work you did before you filed your disability insurance benefits claim. For example, if you are a physician, you will be asked for your monthly and annual CPT production reports for at least one year prior to the start date of your disability. You will also be asked to provide a monthly profit and loss statement, recent tax returns, and your daily schedule.

If you are an attorney seeking disability, you may be asked for your appointment calendar for the past two years, your current case list with an itemization of each type of case, a description of your litigation-related work (if you are a litigator), recent tax returns, and monthly profit and loss statements for at least the past two years.

Oddly enough, if you are seeking partial disability, Northwestern’s request for professional information could be even more extensive. It is especially difficult to prove that you can perform your occupation on a part-time basis but you cannot return to work in your own occupation on a full-time basis.

Most claimants will also be asked to participate in an interview by a Northwestern Mutual insurance representative. Mr. Ortiz suggests that such interviews should never take place without legal representation. If Northwestern Mutual has asked you to participate in such an interview, you should request a free consultation with our firm to discuss the details of your disability claim with a professional.

Seek the Help of an Experienced Northwestern Mutual Disability Insurance Lawyer

Mr. Ortiz has seen claims be denied because the insurance company claims there is insufficient medical evidence to support the claim, or because the insurance company requests information that cannot reasonably be provided. Mr. Ortiz takes great pride in assisting claimants in filing appeals for claims that have been wrongly denied or terminated (where benefits were initially approved but later cut off). We also file lawsuits when the claimant has “exhausted” the appeals process with the insurance company.

If your claim for long-term disability benefits has been wrongfully denied or terminated, it is important to find an attorney with extensive experience handling LTD appeals and lawsuits. Nick A. Ortiz is the founder of the Ortiz Law Firm and an experienced disability attorney. For years, Mr. Ortiz has advocated on behalf of disability claimants and takes great pride in helping disabled individuals secure their long-term disability insurance benefits.

As a long-term disability lawyer, Mr. Ortiz approaches each case with intelligence and experience. He is familiar with the strategies and tactics insurance companies use to justify denying legitimate claims, and he can help you prepare a comprehensive appeal with evidence to challenge the denial.

Mr. Ortiz accepts cases after the initial denial letter from insurance companies such as Northwestern. He and his staff will help prepare and file the claimant’s internal appeal to maximize the chances that the LTD claim will be approved or reinstated. If necessary, Mr. Ortiz will file a lawsuit against the insurance company to either obtain a favorable settlement or prevail on the merits and have the claim reinstated.

We handle long-term disability claims on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only charge a percentage of the amount recovered. If there is no recovery, you owe us nothing. If your internal appeal is successful and we do not have to go to court, we charge a percentage of the back pay owed and a percentage of your future benefits for 12 months.

Request a Free Consultation for Your Northwestern Mutual Disability Claim

The Ortiz Law Firm has helped numerous doctors, lawyers, and other business owners nationwide with their wrongfully denied Northwestern Mutual long-term disability claims. Call us at (888) 321-8131 to discuss how we can help you recover the disability benefits you need to support your family and protect your way of life.